


manor in the woods

by ivelostmyspectacles



Series: TMA - Human in a Vampire's Domain [1]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: 80 percent of everyone else is a vampire, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, Developing Friendships, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Human Jon, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-10-13 04:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20576288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivelostmyspectacles/pseuds/ivelostmyspectacles
Summary: Doing a little light paranormal investigating, Jon stumbles upon a manor in the woods.All of its inhabitants are, apparently, vampires.A coven led by Elias Bouchard, and Jon's walked right into the center of it. Perfect.





	1. Chapter 1

When it came down to it, Jon was aware of the danger.

He wasn’t an idiot– depending who you asked– but there were things that needed proper research and no one else seemed like they were going to manage to do it. Not that there weren’t already reports of people investigating Ballyboley Forest. There were. Even Georgie had taken an interest in it, once, following Ghost Hunt UK’s broadcasts a little more eagerly when Melanie had taken the trip north to visit. But nothing had come of it. Things rarely did. In any case, if you wanted a job done right…

Even if there _ weren’t _ creatures of some sort wandering the forest unseen, something Jon doubted, going into an unfamiliar forest in the dead of night probably _ wasn’t _ a great idea. As it was, he took another torch, extra batteries, and a power bank, just in case.

It took a short time to get to Larne, and then an… embarrassingly shorter time to actually get lost in Ballyboley Forest. It was frustrating, how quickly he got turned around. (His own fault. He’d always been rubbish with a compass.) GPS was spotty– unsurprisingly– and it followed that service was just as dicey, but… he’d planned for a camping trip. A night in the woods was… not _ spooky, _ exactly, if a little unsettling; either way, he’d come prepared with a tent and a few books to page through in the meantime.

The forest was actually quite beautiful in daylight, even if the sunlight did seem to withdraw unnaturally quickly within the woods.

The second night came as fast as the first, with no luck on _ precisely _ locating his position. (He had a general idea, he thought, and absolutely refused to call Georgie unless _ completely _ necessary.) He had a few charges on the power bank, and enough food for two more days here. He’d save his panicking for the time beyond that.

Theoretically.

It was _ early _ when he woke. Still properly dark, somewhat eerie. He fumbled to squint at the time, planning to sleep until dawn at the least and… wait. No, something had woken him up. Not the darkness. That was normal. But the… noise. The forest had been… quiet, the past night. Even wandering in the daylight, it had been peaceful. Wildlife here and there, the crack of branches or underbrush beneath his feet. But it was different now. There _ was _ noise, vague and far off in the distance. Something shrill, and sharp, and– Jon knew the legends. Druids, in the forest, had once used animals as sacrifices in rituals. It wasn’t uncommon to hear their squeals and cries as they died. 

So it went, anyway.

Jon was out of the tent, torch in hand, before he’d properly fitted his glasses back on his face.

It was reckless, and dangerous, and– all sorts of words he’d receive when he checked back in with Georgie, he was sure, but Jon… followed the noise. Didn’t think about how he’d get back to the tent, or his things, just _ went, _ clumsy and uncoordinated and full of heart-pounding curiosity of his torchlight bouncing off rocks and trees and odd formations that looked stranger in the dark.

It turned to a bit of wild-eyed panic when he saw the first hint of fire. What the hell was he supposed to do for a _ forest fire? _ Kids, playing a prank that had gone wrong? He wondered, abandoning his torch and darting around the smoldering growth. (Were all the rumours just _ pranks? _ He’d had an inkling, but still disappointing–) He’d left anything useful back at camp. No water, no… anything. Just the shirt on his back and his torch and his ph– damn. Not his phone, either.

The fire was spreading, and there was something glistening on the trees, caught in the flickering light.

Rumours aside, he had to go. Now.

If he couldn’t get back to his tent safely, the best way was… well, any way away from the flames, honestly. East, he thought, and definitely not the way he’d just walked from, but the flames were growing, burning hot and bright and illuminating four figures, standing unmoving in the shadows cast by flame.

Jon stopped, and _ stared. _

He knew the legends. And he knew that they _ had _ to be rumours, that there was no way it could possibly be true– 

_ Go, _ ** _now,_ ** something nagged. Jon turned tail, and went.

He heard nothing save the squeals of before, and the crackling as the fire chased behind him. Or maybe it was the figures, maybe it was the legend of old Druids still haunting this forest, and Jon glanced over his shoulder to see if he was being followed—

He had the vague recollection of _ falling, _ tumbling headfirst over a drop off into murky wetness below, and then— 

nothing. 

  


“– wandered in on the Desolation’s Ritual?”

“How do we know he’s not _ part _ of the Blackened Earth to begin with?”

“… _ human, _ duh. Really human, can’t you–”

“– assure you, he is not involved.”

Jon’s head ached, and there were tiny, tiny tremors shaking his body. He thought.

“Umm, he’s… really cold, you guys.”

Cold. That was it. Stark contrast to the heat of flames… there had been a fire, right? He couldn’t… remember. He thought he remembered fire, and then… falling…

“– get the–”

Darkness… he just needed to sleep.

  


As much as Jon wanted to believe he was waking up, safe and sound in the terrible little tent he’d brought with him to the forest, he was painfully aware that that wasn’t the case. And by painfully, he meant… comfortably. Comfortable, wrapped in blankets, and _ warm, _ and the tent had absolutely _ not _ been so pleasant. A bit drafty, really. But this… was nice. Too nice. Ergo, he wasn’t safely tucked away in his tent.

In addition, his head was still pounding. His fingers twitched on the blankets, trying to tug them closer, or maybe he was trying to bury his face into his arm, but… consciousness was slow in coming back.

“Oh shit. He’s actually alive.”

“What do you mean, ‘he’s actually alive??’ You said he’d be fine!”

“Yeah, how should I know? When’s the last time I’ve been human?”

“Are you serious?!”

“Heh, all I said was–”

Jon curled in on himself, making a tiny noise of half protest. The talking ceased, but only for a moment. 

“… I’ll get Elias.”

“Sure…”

A door opened, and closed, and Jon finally managed to drag his eyes open.

Wherever he was was completely unfamiliar, that much was certain. As though the voices _ weren’t– _ uncertain though he’d been in if they were in his own _ head _ or not, seeing as how the headache kept on pulsing beneath his eyelids– but he was… indoors, in a bed, swathed in a frankly alarming amount of old looking blankets. Everything looked a bit… _ old, _ and dark, and… there was someone sitting at his bedside.

Jon shuddered, and gave a brief, valiant effort at panicking.

“It’s okay!” The man held up his hands, not touching Jon but also looking like he wanted to reach out and stop him moving all the same. “It’s okay, it’s just– you kind of hit your head? So you should take it easy. We found you in the forest. I’m Martin,” he added, and… none of that explained why Jon was _here,_ really, or why Martin(?) or any of the other voices he’d heard were literally _in the middle of the haunted_ _forest_ as it were.

Rationally, it made sense. _ They’re the monsters, Jon. _

Martin was still talking. “– went to get our elde– errr, I mean, our boss? Elias? So he can explain things, and then we can try to fix things– oh, um, sorry, did you want… something? Water, maybe?”

** _They’re_ ** _ the monsters, Jon! _

Except Martin didn’t seem terribly like a monster. He was… he almost seemed more nervous than Jon, at the moment, rambling on too quickly for Jon to really keep up. And he was just… sitting there, at his bedside, after Jon had apparently fallen down a ravine, so… _ if _ Martin was a monster, Jon guessed he’d already taken his chance with him.

“Sure,” he agreed vaguely, and Martin smiled like none of this was weird at all.

“Right, course. So, I know you have questions,” Martin said, pouring a glass of water. Jon winced as he forced himself to sit up. “But Elias’ll be able to answer you. Or, sort of answer you. He’ll answer the bits he wants to, anyway. Sorry,” he apologized again, “I know that doesn’t make much sense yet. Just give us a minute, alright?”

Jon took the glass, and Martin’s fingers stayed pointedly away from his. He didn’t know why, exactly, that struck him as odd. (In comparison to everything _ else.) _ “Alright,” he murmured, and sipped at the water. He swallowed, and licked his lips, and then tried what he hoped was a _ simple _ question. “What happened to the fire?”

Martin blinked. Now that Jon was focusing, he was picking up little details. Appearances. Gingery hair, freckles on utterly pale skin. “Oh, you remember? We thought maybe… well, I guess it doesn’t matter now, does it? The fire,” he clarified, “it’s gone. We took care of it. That was– we didn’t really know that was happening until _ you _ actually alerted us. They were… sneaky, this time.”

“Who’s ‘they?’”

“That would be The Desolation.”

Jon flinched, ignoring the spilled water on the blankets as he twisted to the man in the doorway. In his forties, maybe? Jon was a terrible judge at that thing. Average build, blond hair, generally… pleasant looking, smiling calmly as he looked back at Jon.

“Apologies,” the man said, stepping in. “It’s been awhile since I’ve attempted to be host. I forgot how easily startled you humans are.”

_ You humans. _ The phrasing didn’t go unnoticed, but Jon was interrupted before he could even begin to question it.

“My name is Elias Bouchard,” he continued, “and you’ve managed to stumble upon my home. Well, before that it was The Desolation, attempting preparation for their Ritual, but that’s neither here nor there for now. You’ve already met Martin–” Martin waved a bit, “and this is Timothy–”

_ “Tim,” _ interrupted the tall, blond standing behind Elias. He slouched back against the door frame, and waved two fingers in greeting. “Just call me Tim.”

“– and now, preferably, an introduction from you?” Elias continued, smiling down at Jon. “We don’t get many unintended visitors out here.”

_ You humans. _ Somehow, it didn’t stop him from replying, even if a little reluctantly, “Jonathan Sims.” 

“Welcome, Jonathan.”

It was chilling, Jon supposed, the way Elias said it. It wasn’t at all menacing, or unkind, but something just… didn't sit right. He didn’t know if he _ was _ welcome. He didn’t know if he wanted to find out, really.

“And what were you doing out here, if I might ask?”

“I–” No, _ he _ was the one with questions. What was The Desolation? Who were these people, asides Elias and Martin and Tim? _ What _ were they? “Where _ am _I?” he settled on instead, and wondered if he imagined Elias’s hint of a smile before it turned serene again.

“You’re still in the forest.” Martin spoke up. “We’re in the forest, pretty far in. We’ve lived here for awhile, actually.”

“We…?”

“Yes,” Elias replied. “My coven.”

Tim looked around; even Martin looked up with something like uncertainty, but Jon barely noticed. Coven. As in… “Like witches?” he blurted, and this time he absolutely did not imagine the look of utter amusement on Elias’s face.

“Not quite,” he said. “If you’re here in Ballyboley Forest, I imagine you already know the legends. While we can’t account for all of the myths people share about druids in the forest, we can, at the very least, account for the occasional bloody find. Although I do wish the rest of them wouldn’t make _ such _ a mess when feeding…”

“Elias–”

“We’re vampires,” Elias clarified, “if you hadn’t made the connection yet.”

_ Vampires. _ Things that shouldn’t exist. That didn’t exist, rightfully, and yet… there were three of them, standing in front of him, claiming to be. Jon kept up a healthy dose of skepticism when it came to Georgie and her friends' more… esoteric interests, and this was _ absolutely _ infringing upon the boundaries of it, but he didn’t really… he didn’t exactly see a reason why they would be _ lying. _

“And you’re just– you’re just really gonna tell him that?” Tim was speaking. “Just, ‘oh, hullo, welcome to our _ spooky manor, _ we’re vampires, by the way, is your head doing okay?’”

“You act as if this is the first time a human’s come to our domain.”

“No, but we _ kill _ them.”

“Tim!”

Jon scrambled up, mind prompting his body up the rest of the way even before he had a proper chance to think about it. Seemed like the only thing he was running on the past twelve or so hours (or had it been longer? How long had he been asleep since he’d cracked his head open?) was self-preservation. Maybe the only thing keeping him alive, really.

Martin made a tiny noise, taking a step back.

“Feel free to ignore Tim,” Elias said, glancing between Martin and Jon. “We have killed before, but I assure you that you are not on the menu.”

“How do I know that?” Jon retorted, clutching onto the bed for support. His head was still spinning, legs a little wobbly. If anything, it did seem like Martin had been telling the truth about his head.

“Well, think about it. We would have killed you already if we wanted to.”

That was… true. The only benefit for waiting for Jon’s return to consciousness would be the thrill of the chase, he supposed, and… they seemed well aware he wasn’t going to be _ running _ anywhere right now. They could have killed him several times over while he’d slept. Instead, he was in a nice bed with several blankets, still clutching onto a half empty glass of water. They didn’t seem interested in killing him immediately, in any case.

Jon– slowly– sat back down. “What do you want?”

“I think that’s _ my _ question, isn’t it?”

Behind him, Tim was looking at Martin, something indescribable on his face. “You okay?”

“I’m fine…”

“You should probably go.”

“I _ said, _ I’m fine, Tim,” Martin retorted. “I’m okay.”

“No.” Elias glanced over his shoulder. “He’s right. Go.”

“But–”

“Check that the others are recovering well from the Lightless Flame. And tell Sasha to collect our visitor’s things from the forest, seeing as how it doesn’t seem he’ll be leaving yet any time today. If she's recovered.”

Martin swallowed, dragging his gaze away from Elias. It settled on Jon, briefly, and then flickered away like he couldn’t stand to look at him now. “Fine,” he muttered, and pushed past Tim on his way out.

He sighed. “I’ll go, too. Let you. _ Talk. _ Or whatever.” Tim shrugged, and ducked out of the room.

“You’ll have to forgive Martin.” Elias pulled out the chair that had been vacated, setting it in the center of the room. “He puts off feeding the longest, and human fear is… tempting when you’re hungry.”

“Oh,” Jon said, dumbly. “He wanted to bite me.”

“He wants your blood,” Elias clarified. “As far as the biting goes, I'd wager he’d _ probably _ be more upset than you would, if he did. But in any case, _ I’m _ still here, and I think you were going to answer my question why _ you _ were here, weren’t you?”

“… yes.” He answered without thinking, and started talking without regard. Explaining his tiny fascination with haunted places, and eventually the horror stories in this forest. That there had been mention of sacrifices, and druids, and the missing hiker or two. Never mention of vampires, but here they were, and here _ he _ was. 

“Ahh. I figured it was something like urban exploration, if not of a paranormal sort. Tim and his brother were interested in that, to a less pleasant end… Anyway, you _are_ lucky we found you. The Lightless Flame, take it from me, is _ not _ anyone’s idea of a good time.”

“Are they vampires too, then? The ones I saw in the forest?”

“Oh, no. They’re arguably worse.”

“Worse,” Jon repeated softly, and slumped a bit back into the pillows. His head hurt. He… God, it all felt like a dream. All of it. Maybe he was still dreaming. He did want to go back to sleep, either way.

Elias seemed to know, even without him saying. “You should rest. We’re not going anywhere, and it doesn’t seem like you’ll be managing to yet with that injury, either. No harm will come to you under my watch, I promise you.”

He didn’t think he'd have much of a chance to argue. Maybe it was the shock putting him to sleep. Or maybe it was vampire powers that he didn’t know about, but he was… tired. “Right. And I’m just supposed to trust you…”

“I’m not sure you have many other choices, Jon,” Elias said kindly.

Jon wanted to glare, but found himself sinking into the pillows instead.

  


“What do you _ want _ from me?”

Morning came with a chance at clarity. At least, it had gotten rid of most of his headache, and he felt more comfortable with expressing concern for his own well-being out loud.

“Nothing, Jon.” Elias sounded tired. _ Looked _ tired, in fact, hair tousled like he’d still been asleep, button-down traded for a rumpled raglan draped down half over his hands. _ Vampires are nocturnal, _ something told Jon, matter-of-fact. _ He’d probably just gotten to sleep when you announced your intention to leave. _ “We went through this earlier.”

“You didn’t need to crawl out of your coffin to see me off.”

“I… I don’t _ actually _ sleep in a coffin.”

“Either way.”

“I wanted…” Elias squinted at the window. “Ah, we need to make this quick. I had a proposition. You’re curious about the forest, and this manor.”

“How do you–”

“Not now, Jon. I’m the elder of this coven, and I have quite a good feeling about you. If you want to come back, you will find your way back, unharmed by my clan. I promise you that. I’ll even allow you to do some… investigative research, if you will.”

… that was all too good to be true. _ Yes, _ he had been thinking he’d like to explore the forest more, if possible. Even moreso, he’d like to know more about this _ manor _ that no one had _ ever _ mentioned before, yet here it was, plain as day. And he’d… like to learn a bit more about _ vampires, _ too, as it were. All of which was dangerous, and theoretically impossible. Except Elias was offering it.

“What’s the catch?” Jon asked, and Elias smiled, small and sleepy.

“Your blood, of course.”

“Of _ course,” _ Jon repeated, and started for the door. “Not much point in investigative research if I’m dead.”

“I said your blood, not your death or humanity. Do try to keep up.”

He hesitated. Again. Goddammit. “… what does that mean?”

“It means, we could benefit from having a donor we don’t have to kill or infect, and you would find the trade-off of information quite interesting, I believe. But I–” He yawned, turning to cover his mouth and… not before Jon caught sight of _ fangs _ this time, long and sharp beneath his lips. “We’ll talk later,” Elias continued. “Stay. Explore the forest, and come back tonight. Or go back to England today. The choice is yours. We’ll be here.” He turned away, returning barefoot to the stairs. “Goodnight, Jon.”

“It’s morning,” Jon pointed out. Reflexive. Nervous.

Elias smiled over his shoulder. “Maybe for _ you,” _ he said, and was gone in the time it took Jon to blink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have countless things to be posting or updating and yet. Brief three chapter intro and then random oneshots will follow into this AU series. Expect more familiar faces and stuff! And biting! Lots of biting! I'm marketing this as a vampire-human gangbang, but minus the sex and add in the blood 👌
> 
> also look up some stuff about Ballyboley Forest, folks. it's interesting and pretty but freaky as shit, so of course, a perfect place for Elias and his coven


	2. Chapter 2

_ “Are you _ sure _ you didn’t hit your head.” _

“No, I’m telling you– I mean, I did, but that’s beside the point.”

_ “I think you should come back home, Jon.” _

“Georgie, this– this is a once in a lifetime chance at– at researching this place, though. This is something _ completely _ undiscovered. I may never–”

_ “You may never come home.” _

“It’s not like that.”

_ “If they’re _ vampires, _ how do you know that?” _

“Because they didn’t kill me.”

_ “Maybe they just know you’re stupid enough to come back so they can kill you then.” _

“Elias said he didn’t _ want _ to kill me.”

_ “Oh, yeah, sure, trust this Elias that you _ don’t know.” Georgie sighed, a breath of static over the phone. _ “At least give me your coordinates in case I stop hearing from you.” _

“Didn’t you just tell me to come home?”

_ “Yeah, but I know you aren’t going to. So I want to make sure you’re safe, at least. I’ll come up there if I have to.” _

“It won’t come to that, Georgie, I… I don’t think it will, anyway,” he amended. “But I will. Send you the general location, as much as I can.”

_ “And you’re keeping in touch. No arguments.” _

“No arguments,” he echoed vaguely, wandering off the beaten track again.

“Welcome back, Jon.”

It was almost… infuriatingly smug, the way Elias welcomed him back into the manor. Jon hadn’t had any trouble finding it. He hadn’t even known _ where _ it was, really, hadn’t been able to keep track of where he was on the way out, but… he’d found his way back. Just like Elias had said he would.

“He _ actually _ came back?” Tim slipped in behind Elias, still standing in the doorway. “What are you, an idiot?” he asked, bracing his arm on Elias’s shoulder to lean in and… get a closer look at Jon, he guessed.

“It remains to be seen,” Jon said dryly. Georgie had said as much before giving up on talking him out of it. Tim clearly seemed to think so too, looking down at him. _ Depended on who you asked. _

“Heh–” Tim shrugged, nudging Elias out of the way. “Right, then. I still think this is _ colossally _stupid–” he added, glancing at Elias.

“Duly noted, Tim, thank you.”

“– but I like him. Come meet everyone.”

Just like that, he was going willingly into a vampire’s den. “Who’s ‘everyone?’ How many people live here?” 

“Regularly? Six. But others come and go. So, you met the three of us already–”

“You came back!” Someone stopped on the stairs. Her skin was darker than Tim or Elias's, dark hair, and headphones draped around her neck. She looked, at least, happy to see him in a way wholly different than Elias had. “I didn’t think you would. I’m Sasha. Glad to see you’re back on your feet.”

“Sasha…” Jon murmured. “Oh. You’re the one who–”

“Grabbed your stuff, yeah. For being out in the middle of the forest, you don’t really _ have _ that much stuff with you, you know.”

“I’ve– I have the essentials.”

“Your power bank already crapped out.”

“What?” He… hadn’t even tried to charge the phone yet today. It’d been a full charge, so–

“I put your phone on when I went and got your stuff last night.”

“… oh.”

Sasha grinned, all fangs and teeth and bright-eyed, genuinely happy humor. It was kind of… startling, how _ normal _ she was. How normal they all were. _ (That’s unfair, Jon.) _ “Yeah, you’re welcome. Where’s Martin, anyway? Haven’t seen him all night.”

“He's not back yet,” Elias said.

“Really?” Tim frowned. “Oookay. Well, he already met him, so… _ Basira!” _

Jon flinched, a little, and Tim apologized, and gestured him into another room to presumably go find another one of their… coven, and Jon was struck with how very _ odd _ this whole meeting was. Probably, he shouldn’t be here. But that sense of self-preservation that had come last night… wasn’t there, now. Yes, it was _ odd, _ but they seemed… nice, even.

Compared to meeting his roommates in the brief time he’d stayed on campus for uni, _ this _ was far, far more preferable. He was just opting not to focus on what the _ payment _ for _ being _ here was already agreed to be.

“Guaranteed she’s in the library,” Tim was saying, “even though I know _ she _ knows you’re here.”

“She can… probably smell my blood…?” Jon ventured hesitantly, and Tim nodded.

“I mean, we all can. Knew someone human was coming by, figured it was _ probably _ you because no one else was scheduled today. Even if I didn’t think you’d be dumb enough to come back.”

“Thanks,” Jon said sourly.

“I mean, you have to admit, it’s kind of stupid. House full of vampires? Yeah! Let’s go back! Guess your type is like that, though.”

“My type.”

“Yeah, like, paranormal investigators or something?”

“I’m not– that’s not exactly what my job is.” Jon frowned, and then remembered something from the night/morning prior. “Elias said– he said you and your brother were into that sort of exploring thing, too, right? I–”

Tim jerked to a standstill.

For the first time since coming back, Jon thought maybe flight-or-fight kicked in for him, in that moment. Tim looked… _ angry, _ he supposed. “Err– or, maybe I misheard–”

“What did he say.”

“What?”

“About Danny, what did he–”

“You two are being loud, you know.” A woman stepped into the doorway, book still held in hand. She tapped it, accusing, on the top of Tim's head. “I’m trying to read.”

“I…” Tim frowned. Seemed to shake himself back to reality, and focused in on her. “Yeah, Jon’s here, why didn’t you come down?”

“I know he’s here.” She looked at Jon. “Hello.”

“Er. Hi.”

“I’m Basira,” she said. “I figured I’d catch you later, since Elias seems to want to keep you. But, anyway, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Yes, likewise…” He was. Pleased to meet her. To meet everyone, really, because it was _ interesting. _ A learning experience. And he liked everyone here so far. But… there was a _ library, _ shelves and shelves of books past Basira’s shoulder. The mythology here, the _ history– _

“Oh, God, we’ve lost him.”

“I’m right _ here.” _

“Have at it,” Basira said, meandering back into the library. “That’s the deal, right? You get to wander about here, and Elias gets you sharing your blood. Interesting arrangement, but, you know, you do you.”

… well, no harm in taking his half of the bargain first, right? He was here now, might as well take a cursory glance through… Jon ducked into the library, and left Tim laughing in the hall behind him.

“He is _ just _ like you, Bas.”

“Don’t even pretend you don’t hole yourself up here, well into the day, and read whatever trashy romance novel Elias’s ordered in.”

“I’m a hopeless romantic, what can I say?”

“Uh huh.”

“And honestly in need of a better fuck now and then–”

“Oh. Good. Thanks, Tim, glad you mentioned that bit.”

Jon was barely listening, plucking the first, thick volume that caught his eye from the shelf. _ Mind’s Eye: Prophecies of Supernatural Folklore in the 1800s. _

“Where’s your other half, anyway? Jon still needs to meet her–”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Huh?”

“I wouldn’t. Have her meet Jon yet.”

… maybe he _ ought _ to be listening.

“She’s good, though? Right?”

“Yeah,” Basira said, settling back into one of the armchairs. “But you know she’s got a problem with The Hunt. Dangling the human in front of her probably _ isn’t _ a good idea yet. Plus she was hurt yesterday, so.”

Jon stopped leafing through pages. “Yes, what was that? Elias mentioned something called The Desolation? He said they were worse than vampires.”

“Being a vampire isn’t _ terrible, _ you know.” Tim shrugged. “There really are worse things.”

“Like The Desolation,” Jon repeated.

“Yeah, if you–”

“Probably let Elias answer that one,” Basira interrupted. “Pretty in-depth territory for us, and you don’t know all what he’s telling him.”

“Mm. Simple version is, they’re another group of Entities, and we don’t get along. They like fire. More than that, yeah, she’s probably right, ask Elias. Make him answer before he bites you. Payment.”

“Thought the books were payment.”

“That, too. Books aren’t really a good payment for _ blood, _ though, are they?”

“Depends who you ask,” Basira said, and Jon sank into one of the chairs near the window with one of the tomes from the shelf in hand.

“If you aren’t going to explain things in detail,” Jon said, flipping open to a splotched table of contents, “then I’m going to look around for myself. And ask Elias later. Right now–”

“Right now, books are good payment,” Tim finished. “Right. I’ll leave you both to it, then. Guaranteed you both sit here and just _ read. _ Probably won’t even talk.”

“Talking’s overrated,” Jon muttered, and Basira hummed a noise of agreement from her own oversized armchair.

“Jon.”

“Mm.”

“Er– you… I g–guess it’s probably your bedtime? I mean, it’s late, and you’re… sort of sleeping, so…”

“Hmm?”

There was a huff of laughter, and then… Jon made himself open his eyes, no matter how tired he was. Someone thought something was funny, and he was… right, he’d gone back to Elias’s manor, on his _ proposition. _The last thing Jon remembered was… reading, barely aware of Basira’s presence even as she’d settled nearby with her own books. Now… now…

Now, Martin was crouched over him, looking _ amused, _ and… too close, really. Jon blanched, couldn’t help it, _ vampires, _ and Martin hurriedly straightened up.

“Sorry, don’t worry– you’re okay. You’re… you’re okay here. Elias made sure. I know he seems pretty intimidating, at first, but… if he gave you protection, he’ll do everything to make sure that holds true. But, anyway, you’re sleeping in the chair,” Martin continued, a little ruefully, “and we have a room made up for you, and since it’s late, thought you’d probably… rather sleep there?” 

“… yeah,” Jon muttered. “I– oh, ow–” He made a grab for the book he’d had resting on his lap. He still missed it by miles, wincing when it bounced off the floor. “Shit. Sorry–”

“Nah, they’ve seen worse.” Martin stooped to grab it, glancing at the front. “Oh– you found our history book.”

“Yes, I– thanks,” he said, letting Martin help him back to his feet, “I got interested– this manor originally belonged to Jonah Magnus? Although I… hadn’t yet found much about him, yet. And Robert Smirke–”

“– designed part of the foundation. The cellars, actually,” Martin interrupted, and smiled. “I kinda know.”

“Er–” Of course. “Right,” Jon said, a touch awkward. Of _ course _ Martin knew. It was _ his _ home. _ He _ was the vampire, and this was _ his _ history. “A bit… over enthused, I suppose,” he admitted. And tired. Still tired. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m glad you like it? I’ve, uh… well, yeah, we don’t really have humans around here? So I wasn’t sure how interesting it’d be, but… you seem to be really kind of intrigued already. And it’s only been a few hours. So I’m glad!”

“I… like research,” he admitted, “and the whole library is apparently at my disposal, so I intend to make use of it. Circumstances willing.”

“Yeah. I mean, no reason you shouldn’t.”

It wasn’t until he’d already followed Martin up a floor that he realized he ought to have been paying attention. Assuming he was staying for… this extended _ research trip _ (putting it kindly) he would probably… _ be _ here. As in, staying in the manor. The room they had prepared for him would become his hostel, in a sense. His new home. He should have been paying attention to the turns and doorways. How many times was he going to get lost here?

God, what had he gotten himself into?

“Heard you met everyone today. Besides Daisy?”

“Yeah.”

“Everyone’s great, actually. I wasn’t sure– I’m technically, um, the youngest? Not… not, like, human age? That’d be Sasha, she was twenty-four when she got turned. But I’ve been a vampire the least amount of time– wasn’t sure, when I got invited to come here. I’m not… I’m not really a _ coven _ person? I’m just… better by myself, I think? But they’ve been great. It’s been great here.”

He still had questions. None of them had been answered, really. The books had told him more than anything Elias had said so far, and even the things Martin was telling him– implying there were individual vampires prowling, and not all of them lived with a coven– inspired _ more _ curiosity. And, somehow, in his tired, still-uncertain-if-this-was-happening state, the one Jon managed to ask was “is that where you were today? E–Eating?”

Martin made a strangled noise, stumbling into him. “O–Oh– sorry, I, um…” He took another short breath, and stared down the hall. “God. Yeah. I was… I went to hunt. Didn’t mean to miss you, but… it was– I had to, just to be safe. Plus,” he added quickly, “I had to check on things from The Desolation, so I just…”

“Killed two birds with one stone?” Jon asked dryly.

“Yeah! Wait–” Martin looked at him sharply. “Was that a joke?”

Jon smiled, looking up at him. He really was overtired. He thought Martin might have been blushing. “Maybe a bit,” he said, and Martin huffed a tiny laugh.

“Okay, points,” Martin allowed. “You win this round, and– oh, yeah, this’ll be your room. So. Um… welcome home,” he said, pushing open the door.

_ Welcome home. _ How many years had it been since someone had said that to him? He wondered. Was it fitting that the _ vampires _ were the first ones to tell him that in the past decade or so? He wondered that, too.

“Thanks,” Jon said, genuinely, and stepped into the doorway.

“Need anything, just yell. We’ll hear. It’s all of us guys on this floor, and the girls are upstairs yet. So, yeah. We’ll be around.” Martin hesitated in the hallway for another moment, and then sort of shrugged, and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Have a good night, then?” He said it like a question, and Jon nodded.

“I might just,” he said, and busied himself with going to crawl into the soft mattress and tidied blankets to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jon, looking at vampires: 🤔 
> 
> Jon, looking at spooky books: 🤯


	3. Chapter 3

For all of the welcoming he’d received coming to Elias’s manor, no one… seemed to be physically able of letting him _ sleep. _

He didn’t know how long the knocking had been going on at the door, but he was still groggy-eyed and half asleep when he finally staggered across the room to wrench it open. _ “What?” _

Elias cocked his head, eyebrows hiking up as he took in Jon, standing in the doorway. Looking amused at having found him _ tired, _ or, as it was, actually asleep. “Glad to see you’re settling in, Jon. But we needed to talk about our, ah, _ arrangement, _ as it were.”

Jon just glared, a bit. A tiny bit. “I was _ asleep.” _

“And I trust you’ll want to return there when we’re finished,” Elias said, and nodded to Jon’s newly-appointed room. “Shall we?”

“Shall we– it’s– the sun’s not even up.”

“Quite the point.” Elias gently moved past him, gripping his shoulder to shift him aside. “Come along.”

“Do I have a choice?” Jon muttered, hesitating for a moment on closing the door. If he wanted to run… well, who was he kidding? He wouldn’t get very far in a house full of _ vampires, _ would he?

“Not at all, Jon.”

Jon sighed, pulling the door closed as he followed Elias back into the room. “Right, so you’re just… you just need to… bite, then?”

“That’s the long and short of it… yes.” 

Elias twitched a finger towards the bed; Jon begrudgingly went, trying to scrub the sleep from his eyes. It was an odd combination of… exhaustion and fear, right now. Probably the best time to spring it on him, now, if he wanted to be honest. Elias had probably planned it that way. Jon had known him all of twenty-four hours and _ of _ course Elias had planned it that way.

Maybe that was a blessing, in itself. No time to properly panic.

“Any questions, first?”

Endless ones, he thought. Except he couldn’t think of most of them right now. He probably didn’t want to, either. Just the one, then. “There’s no… danger?” he asked carefully.

“Meaning, I won’t accidentally turn you into a vampire.” 

“Meaning that.”

“Nothing to worry about,” Elias said. “Infecting is a bit more… complicated. I’ve done it before, certainly. Twice, within this household.”

“Who?”

“Daisy, and Tim. Both times of necessity. Well…” Elias shrugged. “Mostly out of necessity.” 

“What does _ that _ mean?”

“I could have let them die.”

“Turned by the kindness of your heart, I suppose,” Jon muttered, and winced when Elias laughed. He hadn’t meant him to hear that. He really hadn’t.

“No, not at all, really. But I need a coven, and their circumstances were extraordinary.”

“Right.”

“Regardless,” Elias continued, stopping next to him. Jon kept himself still when he reached down to unbutton Jon’s cuffs, slipping his sleeve up. “It would involve draining you entirely of blood, and then giving you my own. And, like I said, I do intend you to be a donor, not another vampire.”

“Right,” Jon repeated. No, even the exhaustion wasn’t stifling the panic now. Elias’s hands were _ cold, _ like every vampire novel he’d ever stumbled upon as a child. He wondered if he was just imagining it. But the metallic tang of fear was on his tongue, anyway, something he tried desperately to swallow down before Elias could bite. _ Human fear is tempting. _

“Not to worry, Jon,” Elias said, the same, amused smile tugging at his lips. “I’ll take it easy for your first time. Location of the bite doesn’t matter to the taste of blood, but it is exponentially easier at different veins… next time.”

“Next time,” Jon echoed.

Elias gripped his wrist loosely, gaze flicking to meet Jon’s, then. “Are you ready?”

“No.” Jon swallowed. Again. The bitter taste in his mouth wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was Elias. “… but do it, anyway,” he managed, and turned his head.

“Charming,” Elias murmured, sounding so completely carefree, and _ bit. _

The first sensation was pain. Unsurprisingly. Jon gave a choked off noise of pain, half jerking in Elias’s grasp. It was reflex, and it hurt even worse. Teeth in skin, tearing open and bleeding out– no. Focus. He wasn’t going to _ die. _ Elias wouldn’t _ kill _ him. He didn’t know why he believed that so wholeheartedly; Georgie was right, he didn’t know him. But he just… trusted him. He had to, now.

Like Elias had said, he didn’t really have a choice.

So, he tried to breathe past the pain a bit, instead. Focus on something else. _ Anything _ else. Elias, or the way he thought he could feel the blood leaving his veins. It was… _ different, _ to the typical blood draw. Although the last time he’d had to do that had been ages ago– _ focus. _ (How many people got to experience this– and live? He wondered.) Focus.

The pain gave away to… numbness. Or maybe it was his body going into shock. Or maybe it was something Elias was doing. But it wasn’t _ exactly _ numbness… close, but not quite. It was… almost a warmth, spreading from the sharp points of contact, contrast to the cool of Elias’s lips passing against his skin. Heat and cool. Pain and… a gradual lack of feeling. He tried to clench his fingers, draw his hand into a fist.

Elias’s gaze flicked up. Jon blanched again, another wave of fear and maybe… _ thrill? _ because Elias’s eyes were slitted and glowing a subtle sort of amethyst, achingly bright in the otherwise darkness Jon hadn’t bothered to turn a lamp on for. He wasn’t one for details when it came to _ people, _ but he was certain Elias didn’t have purple eyes. Green, maybe?

Maybe he really could feel the blood leaving him. He was starting to feel… dizzy.

“… Elias.”

He didn’t necessarily feel Elias detach from his arm, and Elias’s response was just a little fuzzy a second later.

“Very well done, Jon,” he said warmly, and Jon felt a bit like he was floating.

It was all fuzzy, after that. Vaguely, he had the notion that he’d managed to get back under the blankets in bed, and Elias was the one who presumably tucked him in. He was still cold and warm at the same time, but there was a blanket at his shoulders that he made a clumsy grab for.

“You’re good at adapting to new situations, aren’t you?” Elias hummed, and the blanket Jon was fumbling for shifted a little closer around his shoulders. “That’s good. That’ll be useful to you, with our respective roles.”

Jon thought he maybe gave some garbled noise of confusion… and then he must have drifted off into the blankets and pillows and Elias’s voice, still commending him in the background.

  


“Jon, I made tea. If you… if you think you'd be okay to drink it?”

“I…” Jon cleared his throat, edging over to crack the door open. “… thank you, Martin.”

“So, he didn’t tell you, huh?” Tim handed over a towel Jon hadn’t seen there a moment before. “About our little _ side-effects?” _

“… no,” Jon murmured, drying his face. “He may have failed to mention.”

“Bet he’d say you _ ‘asked the wrong questions.’ _” Basira shrugged. “Don’t worry. The fact that you’re sick means you aren’t turning. It’s a human reaction to our venom.”

“But it definitely doesn’t turn you,” Martin added, handing over the mug of lukewarm tea. “You have to drink our blood for it to do that.”

“He… he did mention that,” Jon said, taking a careful sip. Anything to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth. He’d been awake since dawn. Sick. Heart-pounding, sweaty palms and something like a fever burning beneath his skin. All capped up with the nausea that made him grateful there was an en-suite to the room they’d settled him in. He wasn’t keen on hearing Elias’s reaction if he’d thrown up on the floor. “I asked if there was any… any danger, and he said I wouldn’t change. So, there’s that.”

“Yyyyyyeah, Elias isn’t very straightforward,” Tim said. “Not keen on answering questions unless you directly ask them. Even then, really.”

“But he keeps us safe,” Martin added. “More or less, so… _ you know. _ He’s an elder, he’s… there’s things he has to keep from us, right?”

_ “And _ he taught you how to be a vampire,” Basira said, glancing at Tim. “Don’t forget.”

“I–” Tim made a face, watching Jon sip at his tea. And then he sighed, holding his hands up in a _ so what _ motion. “I can’t forget, trust me.”

“What’s that about…?” Jon rasped. He had to lean back against the counter, and look away from the tea bag swirling in the water. It was making him nauseous again. “Elias mentioned… mentioned turning you. And Daisy.”

“I _ really _ wish he’d stop mentioning things.”

“It’s kinda fair, though…”

“You wouldn’t say it was fair if it was _ you,” _ Tim interrupted, and Martin looked away. “Just… there was some stuff, okay? And, yeah, Elias saved me. I can’t forget, and he wouldn’t let me, anyway. I have to _ bend the knee _ to him, if he wants.”

Tim didn’t sound… happy. But he didn’t talk about Elias with total disdain, either, so Jon was… curious. And perhaps disregarding his own standing by asking the question he wanted an answer to. “Why?” he managed anyway. “If you don’t want to be here–”

“I can’t _ go,” _ Tim interrupted again. An odd look crossed his face, and he shrugged. “I mean, technically I _ could. _ But if Elias gives me a direct order, I have to follow it.”

“Why?”

“He’s his sire,” Basira explained. “Whoever bloods the human becomes responsible for them– a sire– and if they’re given a serious command, they have no choice but to follow. Kind of a vampire chain of command. Daisy’s the same, with Elias.”

“And she likes it even less,” Tim muttered.

“Daisy’s a special case, and you know it.”

For the third time, Jon repeated “why?” after another mouthful of tea.

“Doesn’t matter,” Basira said. “Not right now. She’s not up to meeting you, and I’m not spilling her secrets. Anyway, I’m going to bed. The sun’s been up for two hours already, and it’s _ really _ late for me.”

“Shit, has it?”

… the tea wasn’t really helping. Watching the tea bag spin wasn’t really the cause for his nausea, after all.

“Yeah. So I’m heading up. See you, Jon.”

He did manage to nod. That was a feat in itself.

“He’s going to puke again,” Basira announced, and then was gone, dark, black _ haze _ trailing out in her midst.

Jon didn’t have time to think about it, because, however she’d known, Basira was right. He managed not to slam the mug down before all but throwing himself at the toilet to vomit again.

“Oh, crap.”

_ “Really _ don’t miss that part of being human, huh.”

“I mean, no, but–”

“Oooh no, you don’t. C’mon, you can’t _ doctor _ him, it’s gonna run its course either way, so leave him be. Leave you to it, Type B.”

_ How do you know my blood type? _ Probably, it was for the best he didn’t manage to get that one asked out loud.

“Just– yeah, sorry, Jon,” Martin murmured. “I’ll make a pot of tea and leave it by the bed, just in case, but… Tim’s right. Just… hang in there?”

“Sure,” he whispered, and tried not to throw up again while they both bid him goodnight.

… strange. It _ had _ been a… strange couple of days. Even now, as miserable as it was sinking back to his knees in the bathroom, sick from _ vampire venom… _ it was just– he wasn’t a _ people person. _ He had a small handful of friends– very small, admittingly, but he was fine with that. Expending emotional capacity to care about _ more _ people was just… exhausting. He preferred books and research and being generally closed off, as Georgie called it, because the alternative was a bit… draining, really.

But here he was, talking to _vampires._ Maybe it helped that they weren’t actually people. _(That’s not _**_fair,_** _Jon.)_ Or– or maybe it was just a culmination of everything that had been happening, and his resistance was down, or maybe they were _doing_ something to him– but… no. That was ridiculous. He might be _sick,_ but he wasn’t an idiot. _(More or less.)_

It was oddly on par that he’d make friends with monsters, wasn’t it? Putting it that way, he really couldn’t help but laugh. And, ah, that really wasn’t a good idea.

Martin’s tea. It was weak, and needed more sugar. Generally tasted terrible, but it was something to get the taste of vomit from his mouth. And, weak and tasteless aside, it was _ warm, _ a balm to his aching throat and stretched thin nerves, and… good. It was good, which was just as strange as the rest of everything else happening around here.

“On par with everything else, then,” Jon murmured, and smiled into the mug. He had a feeling things wouldn’t be normal again for a long while, and that… that was exciting, in its own, unpredictable way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna update something else but decided to cap off the first installment of vampire au on this first day of Halloween! can't wait to work on some of the other ideas I have for this one~ <strike>including some one-off shippy stuff 👀</strike>


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